Electrical: Regulator on the Champ

[DougHolverson]

The generator on my '63 Champ is running at ~16.5 volts. At least I know it's healthy.... So which set of contacts in the regulator do I turn and which way to I turn them to lower the voltage? I feel like if I accidentally turned the voltage even a little bit up, I may blow something out, like the Pertronix....

[TWChamp]

I thought the 63 would be an alternator. Do you have a picture of the voltage regulator? The winding with a lot of fine wire is the voltage regulator, and you need to turn the screw in the direction that makes the contacts separate easier. This will lower the voltage to 14.3 or where you want to set it.

[DougHolverson]

Would that mean making the gap bigger or smaller?

This thing may grow a 12si Delcotron over the winter....

I tripped over another thread a while back saying that 30 amp generators were standard in Champs and bigger generators and alternators were optional. I have to wonder if Studebaker was burning off excess parts inventory? Or if Delco was giving them a big discount on left over, borderline obsolete stuff?

[christophe]

I tripped over another thread a while back saying that 30 amp generators were standard in Champs and bigger generators and alternators were optional. I have to wonder if Studebaker was burning off excess parts inventory? Or if Delco was giving them a big discount on left over, borderline obsolete stuff?

I wouldn't say that as alternators were one of Studebaker's noveltys for 1963. If I remember well, the first american car with an alternator was the 1961 Valiant. 35 amp alternators were the standard equipement. Jet-Thrust engines had 40 amp alternators. I just had a look at the shop manual. They didn't service the regulator but indicate to perform an alternator output test first. This test is not a simple one, so the voltage you measured might not be the right one by Studebaker standards. S.I. sells this regulator for 35$ (NOS). I bought one for myself and was very satisfied. As a comparison, when I hook my stroboscopic lamp the indicated voltage is 14,5 volts.

[TWChamp]

Would that mean making the gap bigger or smaller?

This thing may grow a 12si Delcotron over the winter....

I tripped over another thread a while back saying that 30 amp generators were standard in Champs and bigger generators and alternators were optional. I have to wonder if Studebaker was burning off excess parts inventory? Or if Delco was giving them a big discount on left over, borderline obsolete stuff?

You don't change the gap, only the spring tension. Less spring tension lowers the voltage.

1960 MoPars are the first cars to use the alternators that I can think of. There were a few early alternators way back when, but they had large selenium rectifiers and were more of an experiment. The last car I know to start using the alternator was the 1965 Corvair. Corvair generators and alternators turned the opposite direction of most other cars.

[StudeRich]

If it had the correct Generator it came with, it would be a Prestolite, the New Autolite Co. the Division that was NOT sold to Ford.